Me pega que

Question

Pegar has many meanings. Is it correct to use it figuratively as in: "It strikes me as a second-rate wine." Me pega que sea un vino flojo.

Gracias

Answer 1

Me pega que sea un vino flojo.

In Spain, that sentence is perfect. It means a wine with little taste or bad quality.

With subjunctive you don't quite give your opinion 100%, as there is no declaration, whereas with indicative you do. The tricky thing here is that "que sea un vino flojo" is the subject, and subjects are rarely used to declare things, so both moods are possible.

flojo 2. adj. Que no tiene mucha actividad, fortaleza o calidad. Vino flojo. Argumento flojo.

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Answer 2

I'm not familiar with pegar used that way. In your sentence, I'd use parecer instead, and use the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive.

Answer 3

By the way, in my last post, I said in English that I would stick with the phrase .....", meaning that I would continue using......

Getting back to the OP regarding the usage of PEGAR: could I express this in Spanish as follows: "Me pego o pegaría al uso de la palabra, flojo, para ......." as found in SD dictionary:

verbo intransitivo5. pegarse (adhere) •the name stuck -> el nombre tuvo éxito, se quedó con el nombre •to stick to one's guns (sentido figurado) -> mantenerse en sus trece •to stick to the facts -> atenerse a los hechos •she stuck to her principles -> fue fiel a sus principios

Bottom line: I want to learn to use pegar in it's many forms. Can I use it to express my intention to stick with, as opposed to changing something? If I can, am I using it correctly: Me pego a ......

Answer 4

Okay. I will stick with the vino flojo.

Continuaré con el vino flojo.

Subjunctive: After further thought and recollection, I recall that when using verbs like creer, pensar etc in the affirmative (even though they express a personal opinion) the indicative mood is used since the speaker is indicating that his opinion likely is the truth. However, when these verbs are used in the NEGATIVE: No pienso que...., No creo que..... then the subjunctive is used in the next clause (if there is a change of subject and a 2nd verb, of course). This is the usage I was thinking of, though still incorrectly applied, when I used the subjunctive in my original post: Me parece que sea.....

Hence, I see that, ------ "Me parece que es un vino flojo" seems to be the proper terminology.

Please correct "flujo" back to "flojo". - Stadt, Apr 22, 2011

Flojo, not flujo. "Me pega que... " is very colloquial. - lazarus1907, Apr 22, 2011

I think your thoughts on the "rules" are now correct as generally taught to English speakers, but if lazarus tells you that you can do something, I would generally believe it. :-) - Stadt, Apr 22, 2011

Answer 5

In this case flojo isn't used, at least in the Americas.

You could say "El vino me parece de baja calidad" or "Me parece que el vino es de baja calidad." Subjuctive is not used here because you know exactly what your opinion is.

Answer 6

There are a lot of verbs that are used to express opinion that use the indicative, and I cannot think of a rule that says that expressing personal opinion automatically triggers the subjunctive. I can believe (creer), think (pensar), or something can appear or seem in some way to me (parecer), and so on, and I would use the indicative, because with them I say that I know or I assert that something is true, at least as far as I am concerned.

Exactly. Relying on so-called "triggers" can lead one astray - 005faa61, Apr 22, 2011

Answer 7

I'd use parecer instead, and use the indicative mood instead of the subjunctive.

So you would say, "Me parece que es un vino flojo."

I have always learned that the subjunctive is used when either there is doubt or a personal opinion expressed, rather that an absolute truth.

I am just offering my perspective when I use "sea". Maybe it is more a matter of emphasis: If I wish to emphasis that it is only my opinion and others may differ, then I would say: "Me parece que sea....."

On the other hand, if I wanted to emphasis that my opinion was really the only one and true way anyone could possibly perceive things, then I would use: "Me parece que es........"

Is this understanding of the subjunctive mood correct? If so, then the subjuntive is quite subjective.